Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is a wider issue with dental services more generally. The fault is not all on the side of the State. We have to look radically at this to make a broader provision for people, and particularly children with special needs. They should be prioritised in any service. There has been a long-standing, ongoing issue which includes industrial relations issues, pay issues and so forth. We have a highly privatised dental service more generally. It seems to me that the capacity within the public service to deliver services on the public dental front is in decline-----

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